Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 749. Arena Challenge

Jin Cheng shook his head. He couldn’t speak because Amon was squeezing his throat.

Amon let him go, and he dropped to the floor. He panted and touched his bruised neck while trying to catch his breath. Amon stayed there. He didn’t move. He remained there while watching Jin Cheng on his four. Jin Cheng looked up after his breath returned to normal. He had a brief eye contact with Amon but quickly looked away.

"Do I need to find your replacement?" Amon asked threateningly.

"No... No," Jin Cheng answered.

"Do remember that you are on the job here. You are not here to act like a young master. Do well, and you will be rewarded. Do poorly and prepare to be replaced. That is the way of the world. It never changes. Deal with it, or I will. Understood?"

Jin Cheng nodded.

"That will be all," Amon said and walked away, leaving Jin Cheng still on his four on the floor.

Amon entered the guest room where Wi Zhuang was resting. Wi Yin was there with him.

"What was that all about?" Wi Yin asked. They heard Amon’s loud voice, but it was not clear enough to understand what he said.

"Just teaching our resident young master about the proper way to manage people," Amon said. "We will be leaving tomorrow, after all. I’m trying to make sure he didn’t fuck this place up once we left."

"Why do you need so many spirit herbs anyway?" Wi Zhuang asked.

They were aware of Amon’s intention with this place. It would be Wi Zhuang’s people who managed the transport every half year. It would be easier for Amon to take the aer stones, but he didn’t have as much influence as he did in Aetheria. Even if he had enough Aer Stones, it didn’t mean he could procure everything, especially the rare and exclusive ingredients. Jin Cheng’s farm produced many rare spirit herbs. One of which was the ingredients for a new poison recipe revealed in the 101 Primal Poison Tome, a poison that could affect even a Lord Stage or Fiendish Stage cultivator.

"I have my reasons." Amon didn’t bother explaining.

"Are you sure it is okay to treat Jin Cheng that way?" Wi Zhuang asked. "His uncle is a Warlord, after all."

Amon chuckled. "I bet the uncle didn’t care about a weak nephew like him. Maybe he didn’t even consider that Jin Cheng exists."

"How can you be sure?" Wi Zhuang asked.

"Jin Cheng is someone who can’t help but throw a swagger once he is in an advantageous position. I have an inkling of it before, but I’m sure of it after seeing his behaviour just now. Fortunately, he is also a coward, which makes his haughtiness manageable by using a dose of intimidation. If he truly has the backing of his Warlord uncle, he would have acted much differently when facing Lu Men. He would also not be as subservient to me as he is now. No, he might have used his uncle’s name every now and then, but it was nothing but an empty threat.

"That said, it is still safer to have him as our ally, just in case his uncle develops a sudden familial interest in reconnecting. Even if he complains to his uncle about our bad treatment, we won’t have a disastrous fallout with his uncle compared to if we get rid of him and have someone more qualified manage this place."

"I see you have thought this through," Wi Zhuang said.

"Get rest. We will depart early tomorrow," Amon told him.

"Are you seriously going to challenge Lu Kang to an arena battle?" Wi Zhuang asked.

Amon grinned. "Of course."

*

The next morning, Amon gave Jin Cheng a small book before leaving. The book contained detailed instructions about farm management as well as the key people currently working on the farm, whom he should do his best to keep.

Amon also left a few words for him, both encouraging and threatening, to ensure he didn’t forget that this farm was no longer his alone.

Arriving back at Saintly Sin City, Amon went directly to the mission center. Wi Zhuang entered the mission center while Amon went into the building next to it. That building served as the faction hub, where faction members gathered and socialized. It was like a giant club or tavern exclusive to faction members.

Amon moved around the place. Plenty of faction members chatted while drinking wine inside the place. Most of the time, Lu Kang was inside here. If he were not, Amon would have to send his crew all over the city to find information about Lu Kang’s whereabouts. Thankfully, he didn’t have to go through that trouble.

Lu Kang hung around his usual spot, which was on the second floor next to the window on the East wall. He had his usual gang with him.

Amon walked over.

"What’s this clown doing here?" One of Lu Kang’s people remarked after noticing Amon.

"Dude, go find another place to sit. This place is reserved," Another told Amon.

"Wait! Isn’t this guy Wi Zhuang’s subordinate?"

"Who the hell is Wi Zhuang?"

"That loser who has just been promoted to the Slayer rank."

"Oh! That one."

"What do you want, loser’s subordinate?"

Lu Kang’s crew continued to laugh and ridicule Amon. As for Lu Kang himself, he didn’t even deign Amon a glance. He continued to chat with the person next to him.

Amon also didn’t pay Lu Kang’s crew members any mind. He took something out of his black space ring and threw it forward. This thing fell on the table before Lu Kang with a bang. Everyone fell silent after seeing the object. It was a human’s head.

Amon took the chance to speak during the silence. "Senior Lu Kang. In my last mission, I encountered a scumbag who happened to have the same surname as you. I don’t know if you are related, but I figure I will bring the head here to let you know."

Lu Kang’s mouth twitched. The head before him was Lu Men’s. He was indeed related. Lu Men was his half-brother. They had the same father but different mothers. He never truly cared for Lu Men, but the guy had his uses. Lu Men ran a shady crew and helped him with delicate tasks when his status as a faction member restrained him from acting, like, for example, getting rid of a fellow faction member.

The last he heard about Lu Men, the guy was helping his cousin, Lu Zou.

Lu Kang turned to Amon and asked, "Where is Lu Zou?"

Amon shrugged and asked back. "Why? Is Lu Zou supposed to be with this scumbag?"

Lu Kang stood up. Everyone could perceive that he was angry. While he had no particular feeling for his half-brother, he cared for his cousin. He had been grooming Lu Zou to be his right-hand man.

Amon chuckled. "I can see that you are angry, but faction members are prohibited from fighting each other, especially at this place where every other faction member is a potential witness. How about this? We fight in the arena. You got the chance to avenge that scumbag. I got the chance to take your rank."

One of Lu Kang’s subordinates stood and scolded Amon, "You are but an Intermediate Malicious Stage cultivator. You don’t have the qualifications to challenge our boss!"

Another stood up. "Boss, let me fight him in the arena. I will slay him for you!"

Many others competed to show their loyalty by offering themselves to fight Amon.

"I won’t accept a challenge from anyone other than Lu Kang," Amon announced. His eyes remained on Lu Kang, and so did Lu Kang’s gaze never leave his.

Lu Kang’s crew continued to make noise and make advancing displays in an attempt to intimidate Amon, but Amon didn’t budge. He stood his ground with his arms folded before his chest. His eyes remained staring at Lu Kang.

"When?" Lu Kang finally spoke.

"Why wait? How about now?" Amon replied.

"Let’s go," Lu Kang flew out through the open window.

"Hehe," Amon grinned.

"What are you grinning about? You are about to die, asshole!" Lu Kang’s crew member scolded.

Amon ignored the lot. He also flew out through the window.

The colosseum housing the arenas was not far away. The center district around the colosseum was populated by facilities owned by the Mercy Faction. Hence, Amon and Lu Kang arrived in just a few minutes.

As someone with the Slayer rank, Lu Kang didn’t have to queue like others who used the arena’s services. Life in the lower world was tough. It was kill or be killed most of the time. Many people gambled their lives by fighting in the arena to earn aer stones, which allowed them to get by. Others paid to watch their fights and placed bets on the outcome. Sometimes they fought other cultivators. Sometimes they fought spirit beasts.

On rare occasions, people fought for personal reasons. To settle disputes, or to decide on ownership, or to steal someone’s rank in the faction. When it was these types of matches, many were usually more interested in spectating, because they were less likely to be fixed.

Hence, after Amon and Lu Kang informed the colosseum’s staff of their intention, they were told to wait three hours in the waiting room. During these three hours, an announcement was made all over the city. Many people rushed over to buy the spectator seats.